Signoes-to chaeles p



(No Model.)

H. E. WAITE & S. H. BARTLETT;

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

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N PETERS. Photo-um lJNrrEn STATES ATENT EEicE.

HENRY E. wAiTE AND SAMUEL H. BARTLETT, on NEW YORK, N. Y., As- SIGNORS-TO oHARLES E. LivERMoRE, TRUSTEE, oE SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 306,789, dated October 21,1884.

Application filed March 28, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HEN Y E. WAiTE and SAMUEL H. BARTLETT, citizens of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of-New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention pertains to telephone centralolfice or exchange switch-boards; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of the switch-boards, and the means for making the various constructions thereon,as more particularly pointed out hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings, forming part of this specification, for a more particular description of our invention, Figure 1 is an elevation of a part of the switch board or table. Fig. 2 is a section of the same, and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are details. a

The switch board or stand consists, essentially, of an upright rectangular portion, A, an inclined portion, B, which spreads or widens toward its base, and a narrow flat or horizontal portion, 0, the devices for making the various connections being arranged on the various portions as hereinafter set forth. In small exchanges such a board or stand may be used alone; but where there is a larger number of subscribers than can well be accommodated upon one such stand several of them maybe arrai'iged, as indicated in dotted lines, so as to form a hollow square, hexagon, octagon, or other figure, according to the needs of the olfice. By such an arrangement it will be seen that space is cconomized, and at the same time every part of the board is accessible to the operators, and the cables or bundles of subscribers wires may be brought into the room from above or below, and the connections conveniently made tothe operating devices, and, if it is desired to change the arrangement or grouping of the various subscribers wires, access to all parts of the board can be obtained without trouble. The board is preferably arranged in the middle of the room, so that there is space for the various operators to move around or work upon any and all parts.

3 Upon the inclined portion B are placed the spring jacks or connectors I), each being numbered to correspond to the proper annunciator to which it is connected. The portion B is made of wood or other good insulating material, and has a number of holes or recesses, into each of which is fitteda connector.

In a shallow recess or mortise is secured by suitable screws or pins an annular disk of metal, (1, having a circular opening, with a slot or recess, 0, in one side thereof. This disk or ring is permanently connected to the line wire Z of the particular subscriber to which it belongs. In a deeper recess in the board and under the ring is a'disk, e, of some conducting material, having a stem or shank, f, extending through a hole in the bottom of the recess, provided with a head, 9, and around the stem or shank is placed a coiled spring, which, normally bearing upon the bottom of the recess, presses the disk 0 in contact with the ring (I.

On the rear side of the board 13 are preferably placed longitudinal strips h, of metal, connected to the ground or separate plates for each connector may be provided, all being grounded. These plates or strips are of comparatively thin metal, and have holes, corresponding to the holes in the board, punched through them. These holes are made with a dull instrument or other device, so as to leave a ragged edge around thehole; or tongues may be formed in the punching or otherwise, that will project slightly above the plate, so as to present an uneven and somewhat elastic face to the head to secure bright electrical contact. It will be seen that normally each sub scribers line-circuit Z enters the board and passes through the aununciatonmagnet, thence to the ring (I, thence by disk 0, stein f, and disk 9, to the strip or plate 71, and to ground.

Located in any convenient position on the board or otherwise are the operators instrumoms, those in the drawings/.1. .lt, being shown as connected to ground at one side, and the other side being connected by a flexible conductor to a plug, 1 the small end of which has a projection, 2, adapted to fit the recess in the ring or disk (1, and when the plug is in sorted in the opening in said ring the projection passes through the recess, and upon the plug being turned partially around it will engage upon the under side of the ring and hold the disk (2 away from the ring, and conse qnently the disk 1 away from the strip 71, breaking the ground-circuit and completing the subscribers circuit through the operators instruments. The end of the plug may be ot' insulating material; but this not necessary,

as the groundconnection will be broken by the disk 5 being forced out of contact with the groundstri Secured to the platform G 01' the board are a series of looping-in connectors, L, each. consisting ota block of insulating material, having a bar or band of conducting material, i, and plates of conducting material I; k located upon its sides. These plugs are preferably supported upon springs, as shown. On opposite sides of the plug or connector are contactsprings or an, to each of which is secured one end. of the connecting-cords n n, the other ends of which pass through holes .in the platform at each side of the connector, and terminate in plugs o 0, similar in construction to the plugs 1. These plugs rest upon the platform, and the slack cord between them and the springs mm/is preferably held taut by aweight, attached to a pulley supported on the cords. Any other suitablearrangement of connectors or cords may be used.

hen it is desired to put two subscribers lines into communication, one of the plugs 0 o is inserted into the spring jacks or connectrjn's corresponding to the subscribers lines, and the connection is made through the cords n n, springs m in, and bar or band of conducting material on the connector L.

It is desirable that the attendantat the central oliice may determine when the subscribers are through using the lines, in order that hey may be disconnected and restored to their normal condition. To do this without disturbing the communication of the subscribers, one or more clearing-out telephones, (.l T, are provided, and connections are made so as to include this telephone in the working or line circuit, in order that the operatormay listen to determine whether the lines are still in use, and this is accomplished without breaking said circuit. 7

On opposite sides of the connectors L are fixed the conducting-strips 7.: 7;, and contact springs or terminals r r are so placed as to bear upon such strips, and are connected to the loop-circuit containing the clearing-out telephonei nstruments (l T.

hen the operator desires to listen, he presses the connector included in the desired circuit, so as to cause the condueting-strips 7. 7. to make connection with the terminals in m and break the circuit through the bar or ring 1', thereby incl uding the clearing-out telephone in the line-circuit, and this accomplished without actually breaking said circuit, the conductors 7 '1; being so arranged that they will make connection with the terminals on m before the depression of the connector actually breaks the coimection through rod 1', the connectors 7.: 7. being long enough to permit both the terminals m m and. r r to bear upon them at the same time.

In order that one clearing-out instrument may be used for a number of circuits, the coir ductors leading to it are preferably connected to the binding-posts s a, preferably secured to the under side of the platl'orm, and each of these posts is connected to one of the springterminals r on each side of a number of the col'mecting-plugs, as clearly shown in Fig, 1.

In the drawings only a small number of the subscribers lines and connecting devices are shown; but it is evident that the number is only limited by the size of the switch-board, and that the general arrange]nent and operational-e the same.

Having thus described our invention, without limiting ourselves to the precise arrangement shown, what we claim is 1. A telephone central-ot'tiee switch-board consisting of the upright rectangular portion, the inclined spreading portion, and the horizontal portion, the arrangement being such that a number of such boards may be arranged around acentral space, as and [or the purposes set forth.

2. A telephone switchboard consisting of the upright rectangular portion supporting the annunciators, the inclined spreading portion containing the spring-jack connectors, and the horizontal portion supporting the spring-conneetors and the o erators instruments, as set forth.

:3. The spring Jack connectors consisting of a ring connected to line and fixed to the switch-board, a springaetuatcd disk normally bearing upon said ring, a ground connecting strip or plate, and connections between said plate and disk, substantially as described.

. 1. The springjack connectors consisting of a ring connected to line, a ground connecting strip or plate, and a stem having a disk or plate at each end and adapted to complete the connection between the ring and ground-plate.

5. The combination, with a eonn ectin g-stri p having perforations the edges of which are made ragged or projecting, of a conducting disk adapted to bear upon said ragged edges, and thereby maintain good electrical contact, as set forth.

(5. A connecting-plug consistingof a body of insulating material having a narrow bar or band and longitudinal strips of conducting material on opposite sides, and circuits and connections, substantially as described,wl1ere by the operators telephone may be included In testimony whereof we have signed our in the line-circuit without interrupting the names to this specification in the presence of same, substantially as described. I two subscribing witnesses.

7. The combination, with a listening-tele- I phone, of a series of plug-connectors each con- I sist-ing of an insulating body having a narrow bar or band and longitudinal strips of conducting material, one of the terminals of each of the connectors being connected to each one of the terminals of the telephone, as and for the purpose set forth.

HENRY E. \VAITE. SAMUEL H. BARTLETT.

\Vitnesscs:

CHARLES SPARMAN, WM. H. VVooDHULn. 

